'This Week' Transcript: John Brennan, Sens. Cornyn and Menendez

MENENDEZ: We reached out to Republicans from the very beginning.
It's not about being at the back of the bus. But when President Obama
came to Capitol Hill when we were trying to get this economy moving on
the Recovery Act, before he got to the Capitol, Republican leaders were
saying dead on arrival, before he even got to engage them.

So I thought the No. 1 job that we had was not to make Barack Obama
a one-term president. I thought it was about creating jobs and growing
the economy.

AMANPOUR: So the Democrats, it seems, the people are saying, simply
have not succeeded in removing people's suspicions about what exactly is
health care, what exactly is the stimulus, all of those policies that
they still are not quite sure about. The Republicans, on the other
hand, have basically said no and moved on. But this has been a very
specific-free, substance-free, content-free election. For instance, you
talk about moving the economy. But there are no concrete proposals on,
for instance, how to slash the deficit.

You look at Britain. They have, whether you like it or not, or
agree with it or not, put out a really severe austerity program, chapter
and verse, dollars and cents. None of that has happened here.

CORNYN: Well, there will be on December the 1st a bipartisan debt
commission report that I know that we're waiting to see what they come
up with. But there will be very specific proposals dealing with debt
and spending and to try to get the American job engine -- get the people
back to work again. Those are the three issues that concern folks the
most.

And I submit that even if we have a good election, which I think we
will on November 2nd, that unless we address those three issues, then
we're going to have another election in two years where people will
throw out those of us who haven't been part of the solution but who have
been part of the problem.

AMANPOUR: Let me ask you about taxes, because presumably that's
going to be an immediate issue. People are talking about taxes and the
battle for taxes starting right after this election. Is there any way,
Senator, that Congress will agree with President Obama's plan to raise
taxes on the wealthiest and preserve them for the middle class?

CORNYN: I don't believe we ought to raise taxes on anyone during a
fragile economic recovery, and I think there is an increasing bipartisan
support for that position. So I hope we'll continue the current tax
policy for the near term, perhaps the next couple of years. Perhaps
there's a bipartisan solution there.

AMANPOUR: Well, is there a bipartisan solution? There have been
reports, for instance, Senator Menendez, that the White House realizes
that there will not be any compromise on what the White House wants to
do, and that perhaps one would preserve the tax cuts for the middle --
for the wealthiest temporarily while preserving them for the middle class.

MENENDEZ: Well, first of all, we had an opportunity to preserve
permanently for the middle class tax cuts that Democrats proposed, and
ultimately Republicans held that hostage to giving the wealthiest in the
country a tax cut.